Execution called off at the last minute after staff fail to find sick inmate's vein

A sick inmate on death row has had his lethal injection called off at the last minute after executors failed to find a vein.

Killer Alva Campbell wiped away tears and shook hands with the execution team following the unsuccessful bid to end his life.

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This was only the third time in US history that an execution has been called off after the process has begun.

Attorneys for the inmate say he uses a walker, suffers breathing problems and may have lung cancer. Campbell also uses a colostomy bag.

Spokeswoman JoEllen Smith said on Wednesday that Campbell spent the morning praying with the prisons’ agency religious services administrator and watching TV.

The 69-year-old was due to be executed today after losing an appeal.

Campbell asked the US Supreme Court to stop his execution, saying he is too ill to execute.

He was taken to the death chamber after staff assessed Campbell’s medical condition and history to identify necessary accommodations.

Doctors say he has severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder because of smoking. He’s smoked two packets a day for decades.

He was sentenced to die for killing a teenager during a 1997 carjacking.

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Campbell had already served 20 years for killing a man. He was paroled in 1992 and, in 1997, he overpowered a Franklin County sheriff’s deputy while in a wheelchair.

He snatched the officer’s gun and carjacked 18-year-old Charles Dials. Campbell drove around with Dials for several hours before he shot him twice in the head.